Alabama continuing to evaluate quarterback prospects for 2015

By Miranda Mason, Matt Scalici&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Tue 7:41 PM, Mar 11, 2014

When the calendar turned to 2014, Alabama had a commitment from the nation's top quarterback prospect in the 2015 class, California star Ricky Town. A few weeks later, following a few momentous turns of the coaching carousel, Town flipped his commitment to USC, leaving the Crimson Tide looking for a new target at the quarterback position.

Alabama quickly extended several more offers to some of the nation's elite signal callers, including Texas star Jarrett Stidham and California five-star Josh Rosen. In the last week, Stidham committed to Texas Tech over the weekend while Rosen did not list Alabama in his recently released top five.

This leaves Alabama turning to new targets under center, including several prospects who have already received scholarship offers from the Crimson Tide staff. Notre Dame-committed dual-threat signal caller Blake Barnett has continued to pick up interest from the Tide staff, despite his commitment to the Fighting Irish. At 6-foot-4, 195-pounds, the Corona, California native has picked up offers from Oregon, UCLA and Michigan among others and will likely take visits to several schools this fall.

Alabama has also extended an offer to New Mexico star Zach Gentry, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound signal caller with nearly a dozen offers and a four-star rating from multiple major recruiting services. Gentry plans on potentially visiting several schools in the Southeast, including Alabama, at some point this spring.

When the calendar turned to 2014, Alabama had a commitment from the nation's top quarterback prospect in the 2015 class, California star Ricky Town. A few weeks later, following a few momentous turns of the coaching carousel, Town flipped his commitment to USC, leaving the Crimson Tide looking for a new target at the quarterback position.

Alabama quickly extended several more offers to some of the nation's elite signal callers, including Texas star Jarrett Stidham and California five-star Josh Rosen. In the last week, Stidham committed to Texas Tech over the weekend while Rosen did not list Alabama in his recently released top five.

This leaves Alabama turning to new targets under center, including several prospects who have already received scholarship offers from the Crimson Tide staff. Notre Dame-committed dual-threat signal caller Blake Barnett has continued to pick up interest from the Tide staff, despite his commitment to the Fighting Irish. At 6-foot-4, 195-pounds, the Corona, California native has picked up offers from Oregon, UCLA and Michigan among others and will likely take visits to several schools this fall.)

Alabama has also extended an offer to New Mexico star Zach Gentry, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound signal caller with nearly a dozen offers and a four-star rating from multiple major recruiting services. Gentry plans on potentially visiting several schools in the Southeast, including Alabama, at some point this spring.)

Alabama has also offered scholarships to a pair of the nation's top dual-threat quarterbacks in Maryland star Kai Locksley and Miami-area star Torrance Gibson. Both players have received early offers from Alabama but appear to have had minimal contact with the Crimson Tide thus far.

It's likely Alabama will extend several more offers to quarterbacks this spring once the Tide coaching staff has a chance to hit the road and evaluate prospects in person. Some names that could be on the Crimson Tide's radar include Kennesaw, Georgia dual-threat star Lorenzo Nunez, Missouri four-star Drew Lock, and Texas five-star Kyler Murray. Alabama has historically tended to seal the deal with their top quarterback prospects during their summer camp sessions, allowing Nick Saban an opportunity to see his potential future quarterback throw in person before accepting a commitment. If that timeline is to remain for the 2015 cycle, Alabama will likely move quickly to extend new offers and develop relationships this spring before bringing in their top targets for the summer camp sessions in June and July.

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